R.T.M - Return To Mother

5 - Anicus

  She knew this had to be a shock to the man sitting down beside where she now stood. Anicus had seen it in fellow soldiers after battle. That thousand-yard stare, his hands were closing and unclosing rapidly, as if he was too lost in his thoughts to realize the meeting had ended. Oseser continued to stare at the readouts that would no longer be of use to him- and as the last couple left the little auditorium she felt it only right to say something. Her hand hovered for a moment above his shoulder before she thought better of it, they weren't that close. The hand dropped to her side and her voice was very soft. "Oseser, are you alright?"

Even with her tone, he jerked in his seat, looking up at her sharply with hard eyes. Anicus shaped her face into some sort of gentle smile, "Look, I know how that sounded coming from the council. But I'm not here to hinder you. I'm here to help- whatever you need- I'm willing to do." -Within reason. "Besides, the council thinks I can be an asset... We'll make our six-month deadline. How about we get started?" -before you have a conniption.

The elder seemed to root around for something to say. She was there to ensure the mission was completed or not. Anicus was not going to play his therapist- which from what she had seen so far from his reaction to his former partner and the office workers he had under him... he certainly needed one. Oseser stood, gathering his notes and clipboard that he had carried into the meeting with him.

"Yes, you're right. There is absolutely no time to waste. I need to show you the core samples first and then upload an entirely new regimen to Mother." Anicus stepped back for him to be able to get up from the meeting table; now the room was completely lit and they were alone. The rest of the heads of the departments had rushed to get back to their own jobs- though none of them had been uprooted as much as the Mother Project.

"I read the file about Mother that I was presented with but I can honestly say it was very thin. What are the core samples besides their namesake?" Anicus asked him as he started to pick up speed to leave the room, almost having to jog to keep up with him.

"When they pulled her from the asteroids nearby- she wasn't in the form she was now from what I understand. My grandfather started the project and took preliminary data from her. My father took over for him and thus I for him- Sometime during my father's experiments, her chemical make-up changed to what it is now. The original creature gave samples, and they are all that remain of the original form." They stepped through the door and into a hall, leading back toward the elevators they had come through earlier.

"What do you mean her chemical make-up changed?" Anicus asked, looking up at the man who was looking testy already from the small number of questions she had asked.

"You'll see when I show you. I'll have to take you to cold storage to see the samples and then we can move on to what Mother is currently." He told her as he practically broke the button on the elevator panel. Anicus glanced at it but said nothing more. Years of the military told her what tone meant 'shut up'.

The ride was much longer than she remembered the first time. Perhaps Oseser had been a bit more talkative than the bundle of nerves beside her now- She stood in silence, watching the scene of the station pass by their window adjacent from the door. Spending so much time in space, she figured eventually it would lose its luster- but that hadn't been the case yet. Stars lay beyond and the large curve of a planet just disappeared behind the bend.

"What qualifications do you have again?" He asked more to himself than to her, and she leaned a little as the box slowed to a stop to look at him curiously.

"Mostly management-" She started and he shook his head, stopping her.

"-That wasn't directed at you." Anicus' eyebrows rose, looking up at him with a clearly confused expression. Great, he talks to invisible people too. As soon as the door opened she could hear the sound of a great mass of people. The main hub, despite the station's age, was extremely well kept. Even the floors that must have been three times her age still shined like they had been designed yesterday. She had to jog again to keep up with Oseser, who flashed his ID badge in front of the elevator that led to what she knew to be their office and the Research Petal of the station. It scanned her badge around her neck too- though she didn't bother waving it.